First, that's pretty funny. Nice input.
Second, I was rejected from Western, sent information about the podiatry program, and was not offended. Just as I was not offended when I was not signed in to this site and saw an ad on the pre-dental page of SDN for a medical school. I was also not bothered seeing the ad about the old guy who is ripped and apparently thought I could benefit from a free healthy aging kit even though I'm in my 20's. I'm guessing most other people applying to dental school are around this age and aren't worried about aging. But, they are all seeing this ad.
My point is that people should not take this so seriously. I tend to agree with the post that says its aim is to provide the people who have not been accepted to dental school, even after a few cycles, another option they may not have considered. Maybe it was offensive to some people here, but maybe there are others out there who decided to pursue this option and it was very helpful. I don't know. This whole situation kind of reminds me of reading things about interviewing that say an interviewer may ask questions to try to get under your skin, just to see how you handle yourself under pressure. If an interviewer asked, "Why dentistry instead of podiatry?" you would not cuss them out, you would politely say that this is the direction your life experiences have pointed you. Application time is a very stressful time, don't let it get to you. Just roll with the punches, look at the bigger picture, do what you can to make yourself a stronger applicant if you haven't been accepted yet, and reapply to schools that have not left a negative impression on you.
Lastly, I do agree that it is difficult to get a read on the school with all the talk of the dean doesn't want send it out, but the even higher-ups are pushing him to. So, the decision maker here may be a little disconnected, but again, don't let it get to you. If you saw the pod thing and said "podiatry isn't for me," then just stay positive and do everything you can do be a great dentist who happened to graduate from somewhere else.
Good luck to all.